The *WeCaTon* - West Carrollton (Ohio) H.S. Alumni News (unofficial)
Saturday, May 28, 2016
On 22 MAY 2016, Bonnie Wrote:
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Okay, we're off and runnin' again! It's May 19, and I'm fiercely
behind,
as always. So I'll make a furious attempt to get as current as I
possibly
can. .As always, we begin with our forwarders: 1954's FREDA P. FLE
TCHER; 1955's C. ELAINE BARKER; 1956's R. GWINN LACY; 1957's RANDALL
W.
PARKS, ERCELL P. PHILLIPS; 1958's RONALD D. "TOM" FEE; 1959's DIANA SUE
RAY,
GARY E. BARNES; 1960's WM. O. WALKER, C. SUE MCCLOUD, EULA FAYE
BAILEY,
DANNY L. WALTERS, STEVEN M. KOKOT, RICHA
RD S. HOLT, DAVID A. BLAIR, DOLO RES K. "DEDE" FAHRNEY; 1961's DALLAS
K.
MATHIS; PAUL R. BEARDSLEY, SANDRA E. BROCK; 1962's BARBARA T. O'NEAL;
1964's
W. THOS. GODBY; 1970's INDY JO GRISSOM, DEBRE C. HOOB LER; 1988's JAS.
A.
MCGUIRE.
Next, we have our e-mail lost folks who are 1956's JOYCE ANN GAREY,
1957's
RALPH H. WARNER (is he deceased?), 1959's CAROLYN E. "TOOTIE" PENCE,
and
1960's HARRIET Z. RICE. If anyone has updated info, please let me know.
We
also have a new e-mail for 1954's FREDA P. FLETCHER, who always notifies
me
of changes. Thanks, Freda.
Our next order of business, unfortunately, is our deaths. Of course,
I'm
always going to hate reporting these, but here goes. First reported by
1959
s GARY E. BARNES was the March 20 death of 1962's JUDITH R. PERRY.
This
death was also reported by Gwinn and by 1960's RICHARD S. HOLT. Also
reported by Gary was the May 6 death of 2014's AKAILA N. DAWSON, only
20
years old. From 1956's R. GWINN LACEY came the report of the March 26
death
of DAVID W. RIX (1958 I think). MARY LOUISE (nee ROSE) FOX, a media
clerk
for WC schools for many years, died April 7, reported by Gwinn, who
also
reported the April 15 death of 1957's PAUL H. PETTIT. Paul's death was
also
reported by 1961's NANCY J. ERTEL and 1957's THERESA M. MOSES. Gwinn
reported the April 14 death of WC library media specialist, JUDITH K.
HIBBARD, as well as the April 15 death of 1961's MICHAEL C. BAKER.
The
Homestead website from 1965's STEVEN F. SHADE reported the death of
1950's
DESSIE OPAL LANGFORD, as did 1949's ROBT. E. HOFFMAN. That's all I have,
but
that's way too many.
Okay, now I'm going to tell you, this is probably going to be an
uncharacteristically-short version of WNR. I'm going to tell you why,
too.
It's because so few of you are sending me your news. I'm nothing more
than
the messenger. Without all of you, there's no WNR. I can't report news
which
isn't there. It's all well and good to send forwards. At least, your
name
gets on the forwarders' list, in the event someone is trying to locate
you,
But forwards provide me with a big, fat zero as regards news to round
out
this bulletin. So big thanks to the few of you who actually sent
printable
news. But for those of you who didn't, I know full well there's news
in
your life somewhere---vacations, cruises, overseas travel, weddings,
school
gatherings, graduations, new cars, first grandchildren, new homes,
winters
in Florida, a special event of some sort in your life. So if you are at
all
iInterested in continuing these bulletins, which I've now been doing
for
nearly 16 years, then I would suggest you do your part to ensure
their
continuation, and do not send just forwards. If you think no one wants
to
read about what you're doing, I can assure you, you're wrong. I will
continue now, with submitted news.
From 1954's JERRY R. GRAHAM (class president) came a great report, which
I
found so interesting. He wrote he'd contacted the curator of the WC
Historical Society and they planned to work out the details of a display
to
honor the only WC student (who left school in his junior year) who
ever
played in the NFL. Jerry wrote the player is ALF ("Big Pup") GRAHAM,
the
brother of Jerry's father. How exciting is that? Jerry's dad was
CLARE
GRAHAM and he was known as, "Little Pup."
As Jerry described it, his uncle played 11 years for the then-fledgling
NFL
for the Dayton Triangles, Chicago Cardinals, and Portsmouth
Steamrollers.
Alf even played in a few all-star games. Jerry's father was in the
first
class of WC inductees into the WC Athletic Hall of Fame. Alf, however,
was
ineligible, due to the fact he didn't officially graduate. (It's long
since
time to change that, by the way. In those days, it was quite routine for
our
male students (females less often), to drop out for the military or to
get
full-time jobs to contribute to the household income. Having or not having
a
high school diploma didn't matter so much in those days and we could get
a
well-paying, lifelong job at a GM plant, for instance.) Hopefully,
this
proposed display will serve to help mitigate that, just a bit. Thanks
for
that great report, Jerry, and do keep us posted on the progress. I, for
one,
was totally unaware we'd had an NFL player among WC students.
Let's move along to another great story, albeit this one is somewhat
bittersweet. From 1953's JANICE K. WIREMAN (homecoming queen) came an
update
on the little girl who served as her flower girl on that big night in
1953.
Sadly, Yvonne Green (flower girl) died soon thereafter, in a house
fire.
Janice had written how she was so bothered by that, throughout her
life.
Well, the recent story of that little girl stirred Janice to find
Yvonne's
final resting place, which she did. She wrote Yvonne is buried beside
her
father. I suspect that won't be Janice's last trip to her grave. Thanks
for
letting us know that, Janice. Several people recalled the fire, the
little
girl, and the overall tragedy, including 1970's INDO JO GRISSOM. I hope
that
gave you a little piece of closure, although it was truly a horrible
tragedy
From 1958's RONALD D. "TOM" FEE came a short commentary on his love for
the
1960 Corvette. He feels about them as I do about Harley-Davidsons. He
once
had one, he wrote, and wishes he had another. But he
has a great consolation prize in the form of a miniature version, given
to
him by his lifelong friend, the late, great BILL R. HOWARD, also 1958.
I
sure do miss Bill and his almost-daily sendings of interesting
trivia,
informative stuff, and just saying hello. But mainly, I miss him as a
person
a lifelong friend, a fellow alumnus, and a fellow Miami Shores Kid.
His
classmate, LORNA D. TROUTMAN, wrote the same thing. I think lots of us
feel
that way and fondly think of Bill.
INDY JO GRISSOM and I had a little exchange about the old Bell Telephone
Co.
from which I retired. She wrote of her mother-in-law also retiring
from
that same company, and right there in Dayton, where I worked for so
many
years. Such a small world!
Our dear JACK L. GODBY, 1961, wrote he'd experienced a fall in March,
and
suffered several compression fractures, as a result. Jack, I'm hoping (as
is
everyone, I know) you're totally recovered by now, or at least very close
to
it. Do keep us posted. You know we're all pulling for you. Be cautious
and
careful, okay, and thank you, as always, for your gracious words about
the
bulletin.
From 1962's BARBARA T. O'NEAL came a request for 1973 and 1974 Pirtans.
My
years skip form 1971 to 1975, so I was unable to accommodate her,
unfortunately. But she, too, sent a gracious note of appreciation for
the
bulletins. If any of you have those years of Piratans to spare, please
let
me know. To this day, I'd still kill for a 1965 edition, but have yet
to
find one.
NANCY A. HALL, 1961, recently wrote of it being the one-year anniversary
of
losing her spouse, Pastor Larry W. Matthews, Ret., who was a
lifelong,
Lutheran minister. So many WC people, it seems, were of the Lutheran
faith,
and so many of us, like Nancy and me, attended Moraine City's Zion
Evangelical Lutheran Church. Although a service station now occupies
the
ground where the original church was (at the SW corner of Stroop Rd.
&
northbound Old Route 25), the parsonage remains, to the immediate south
of
the site, and is now some sort of business. I have childhood-long
memories
of that church, and my experiences within it.
Not long after my March 16 birthday, I got a warm e-mail from
lifelong
friend, 1960's SHIRLEY J. TUDOR, who had spent time in Florida this
winter
with the fiancee of the late GARY R. FRANK, 1961. She'd sent me a
birthday
card and said she was heading back home to children and grandchildren
on
April 10. So I'm sure she's back home now, and all ready for the
summer
season.
From my 1960 class, our perennial athlete, DOLORES K. "DEDE" FAHRNEY
continues to participate in her softball games, having played in the
2016
Pensacola Tournament. Need I even mention she also won the Most
Valuable
Player award? Of course not! I could've predicted that one, before
they
threw the first ball.
Congratulations, DeDe!!
Thanks to 1964's SHARON ANN CAMPBELL for a wonderful report on the
social
activities in her class. It sounds as though you've really got a good
thing
going. Sharon She wrote of her class's monthly luncheons, saying the
number
ranges from 15-35, depending on the season, as some go to Florida in
the
winter. She also said she keeps a card file for all her class members
and
has found all but 4 or5. The bulletins have been a help in finding a
few,
too. That's terrific, Sharon. Every class needs someone with your
dedication
Keep up the good work and my greetings to all your lunch pals.
Does anyone remember an early-50s grad named Stockslager? SHIRLEY ANN
RANKIN
1963, wanted to know if I could locate this person, but didn't find
anyone
in the yearbooks' senior class pictures with that name. However, we did
find
the nursery/garden center with that name and I passed it along to
Shirley,
so if you know who it is, please let me know.
SALLY L GILLETTE remains in residence in Murrell's Inlet, South
Carolina,
and seems to be doing fine with her new home. Of course, this week
(May16-22) is likely a lot more noisy, as they're having the big
Myrtle
Beach Motorcycle Rally, which I've attended a number of times. I
hope you
re getting some sleep, Sally. I happen to know, though, the thousands
of
bikes roar through Murrell's Inlet as they pass into Myrtle Beach. Chin
up,
Sally, it's about concluded now, it's May 21.
It seems the frequent topic is motorcycles, with 1961's PAUL R.
BEARDSLEY,
ant that' just fine with me, as you all know. By the way, Paul sent a
thank-you for the anniversary card I sent for the significant 10th
wedding
anniversary on May 19, for him and classmate, SANDRA E. BROCK. We all
wish
you many more, Sandy and Paul. But he also sent some pretty good
nostalgic
trivia about the good, ol' days in Miami Shores and the motorcycles of
the
day.
Paul wrote of being a Whizzer mechanic in his youth, referencing the
motorcycle of that name. I'm sure his expertise was probably pretty
good.
Anyway, he wrote of someone called Bevo (a nickname I recall, by the
way)
selling his Sportsman Whizzer to a fellow named Bob Becraft, another name
I
recall, which opened the doors for Paul to work on the Whizzer for Bob.
He
also wrote of how ROY LAMB and ROBT. H. FULLER, 1959, had boxes of
Whizzer
parts, but went on to say someone named Bob Finley (didn't recognize
that
name) was, "the man," as he had 2 Whizzers and used them for his paper
route
Paul wrote of how he also used to help BILLY LAIL when he worked on
Whizzers, and yes, I remember Billy very well.
Apparently, at some point, Paul's brother, JERRY BEARDSLEY, bought
Paul his
very own Cushman. Boy, do I ever remember those! Anyway, Paul wrote of
how
they were one day jumping a ramp, propped up with bricks, and it was
right
in front of the home of 1958's DONALD I. MCCOY, and he somehow managed
to
destroy all the Cushman's sheet metal. So he was without a bike for a
while,
but eventually got an NSU, which he wrote he never did get into
running
order. Good stories, Paul, and nobody appreciates those kind more than
I.
Yet another thank-you came forth from 1956's RALPH H. WILSON, a classmate
of
my late sister, JUDY ANN RISNER, for the card I sent for his and Kay's
May
12 wedding anniversary. Ralph would like to see more of his classmates
at
the school functions and wishes more would attend. So listen up, all
you
1956-ers, make it a point to get to the alumni functions. Ralph lives
in
Thompson Station, Tennessee, and drives to Ohio to be there, as do I. So
if
you live anywhere in the state of Ohio, and you aren't attending, then
shame
on you, unless there's some health-related reason which prevents it.
Okay, mark your calendars for July 15. It's the WC Football Alumni Club
Golf
Classic to commence at the Heatherwoode Golf Club in Springboro. This
event
will provide fellowship, a day of golfing, and will also be a fundraiser
for
the club. It sure sounds as though it's made to order for alumni like
1958's
LANDO F. STEELE and FLOYD R. "BUBBLES" WILLIAMS, JR., and actually,
several
other of 1958-ers, namely RICHARD A. FAHRNEY (class president who lives
in
Colorado) and VINCENT A. BRODBECK. This notice came from 1988's JAMES
A.
MCGUIRE and I'm given to understand his efforts are also heavily
supported
by 1987's JEFFREY T. GILES. Thanks to both.
FREDA P. FLETCHER, 1954, wrote she and spouse, Larry L. Green, are trying
to
get to their place in NC (Pineola, I believe it is), but were so
inundated
by heavy rains and their shed was flooded again, so they were prevented
from
leaving. She even mentioned selling off her assets and leaving Florida.
Well
Freda, you know my feelings about Florida, and I feel I earned my,
"Ph.D.,
in Florida residency," having lived there for 30 years. I find the place
to
be a miserable, blazing inferno with a/c necessary at least 10 1/2
months
each year. So no matter what you decide, I hope you'll like it.
Eat your hearts out, girls! LANDO F. STEELE, 1958, just called me the
other
day. Yes, we chit-chat from time to time, and it was well overdue. He's
been
doing his usual globe-trotting, cruise-shipping, and bicycle-riding. He
says
he's feeling well, doing well, and planning a fun summer. That's just
what
we like to hear.
Also, I want to mention my beautiful artwork in my new sun room, courtesy
of
Roger M. "Chico" Lopez III, the spouse of 1958's LORNA D. TROUTMAN. You
see,
Lorna and Chico visited me a couple years ago, along with here sister,
1962
s THERESA M. TROUTMAN. Chico is a spectacular, professional
photographer,
and he gifted me with 3 of his Arizona-themed photos, very large ones.
I
kept them carefully encased in the tube he gave me, along with the
thin,
cotton gloves used for handling. My sun room was completed in February and
I
m still working on finishing touches. I framed them all and they look
magnificent in there. Thanks, Chico!
Now, believe it or not, I'm already at the end of all submitted news. So
you
see what I mean by what I wrote earlier, right? Get that news in here,
okay?
I've talked with a few of you, yes, who include pretty much my own
classmates, DEVONA S. TAYLOR, JO ANN K. STEMLEY, CHAS V. CARTER, EULA
FAYE
BAILEY, and CHAS. A. HIGH, JR. Dee is very happy in her new marriage
to
Jimmy L. Silvers. Jo Ann recently returned from her winter digs in
Sebring,
Fl, with spouse Ronald R. Hall, Sr. Charles is still diligently working
in
his gravel pit as much as he possibly can. Eula Faye remains involved
with
the family, especially grandson Joh, to whom she's very close. Charlie
High
is in very poor health, as is his wife. They just had their 48
wedding
anniversary on May 15.
So that's, it gang---well, almost! I did forget to mention I bought
another
Harley-Davidson on March 9. Yes, I know. I said I was going to quit, as
it
s just too dangerous and too many nuts on the road, too much distract-
ed
driving and yada, yada, yada. Not only did I lie to all of you, I also
lied
to myself. I really tried to quit, "cold turkey." but I just couldn't do
it
I've ridden for 62 years, longer than all my child-rearing, longer than
all
my marriages, longer than all my years of education, longer than anything
in
my life. So I didn't make it. This is my 33rd Harley-Davidson! I'm
hooked
for life, obviously. I leave each of you with my usual wish for
glowing
health, personal safety, great happiness, spiritual harmonly,
peaceful
serenity, and boundless prosperity. Ciaooo
---And there you have it! More at 11---
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